Your evening coffee at your local darshini in Bengaluru is set to get a little dearer. Hotels in Bengaluru are slated to hike the price of food items on their menus, according to the Bruhat Bengaluru Hotel Association, based on a meeting held last week.
The price hike is set to be between Rs 2-3, according to the Hindu.
The decision to hike the prices was accepted unanimously, as restaurant owners felt that the increase was necessary. This hike is currently only applicable to the Bengaluru region, but prices in all of Karnataka are set to follow suit.
“Prices for almost everything has gone up: whether it is rent, gas cylinders, or even milk. That’s why we have decided to increase the prices as well, or we will have to suffer losses,” says Mallikarjun, of the Bruhat Bengaluru Hotel Association (BBHA). According to BBHA’s website, the association has around 1500 cafes, bakeries, fine dining and darshinis in their books as members. It’s anticipated that all member restaurants will increase their prices, while other restaurants, who are not members, are expected to do so as well, Mallikarjun said.
PC Rao, president of the BBHA, told the Hindu that it had been at least four years since the last hike. The new prices will also be reflected in food delivery platforms.
Chandrashekar Hebbar, the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Hotels and Restaurants Association, said that certain items on the menu could see a bigger increase. “Prices for milk have been steadily increasing, and so prices for anything with milk will increase, like coffee or tea. Even North Indian meals and curries will see a bigger hike in prices,” he added.
The announcement from the city's hotels associations comes even as news reports emerged citing the low price of thali meals in the country as evidence that the food in restaurants has become more affordable over the years.
However, vegetable prices have stayed more or less steady over the years. Critics noted that the reason for the low prices of thalis is that food inflation over the years has stayed consistently low, while prices on everything else has increased.